While Cyanogen Inc's Cyanogen OS may have other plans, the non-corporate arm of the larger Cyanogen identity, CyanogenMod, has clarified today that the community version of the ROM will not ship with Cyanogen OS's "exclusive partner apps." That means that no, your next CM nightly build will not have any Microsoft junk on it - that privilege is reserved for the exclusive pleasure of OnePlus One and Yu Yureka owners.

The distinction here is that those phones run Cyanogen OS versus the standard, community-developed CyanogenMod. While Cyanogen OS shares a code base with CyanogenMod, Cyanogen Inc can then add software or features into the builds that end up on Cyanogen OS devices, which get the Cyanogen OS name (eg Cyanogen OS 12).

In the same blog post, CyanogenMod's ciwrl provides a short primer on the new CM12.1 nightlies that are now showing up, reminding you to make sure you flash the correct Google Apps package (ie, one that works on 5.1) if you want your Google Apps to, you know, work. They also recognize a bug with the CM Gerrit for Google OAuth users who are being marked "untrusted," so if that's an issue you're having, they're working on it, and hope to have it resolved by the weekend.

Comments

cant trust them. they could do it in future.
I am saying good bye to them for good

MJ

They "could" but they won't... CyanogenMod only exists because of the community and it's volunteers which zero of them have any interest in including Microsoft apps.

Frettfreak

After their comment about trying to remove Google from Android (or something along those lines, and with how corporate they r now don't think that we couldn't see this within a year. The a$$ hats would still be coding in their mom's basement if it wasn't for Google and android and now they r trying to ditch it all together. F cm... They have lost their way

supremekizzle

You can swear on android police. They don't censor speech.

MJ

Once again, Cyanogen OS has nothing do with CyanogenMod which never came with the Gapps nor will it ever include Microsoft apps. People, this is not that hard...

Total Faith

You still support Google when you flash their Gapps on a CyanogenMod system, right?

MJ

Yes, people who use Google services would would to flash the Gapps on their CyanogenMod install. What does that have to do with my comment?

Total Faith

Just wanted to know that, because I love CyanogenMod, but I love more Google. I would prefer them collaborating in future :P

bozzykid

Actually, there is no such thing as CyanogenMod 12s. They have moved to the name "Cyanogen OS 12" to avoid confusion.

CyanogenMOD vs Cyanogen OS really illustrates what each of them are (or what Cyanogen wants you to consider them).

The "Mod" sounds like a community-based thing for all your devices, with root out of the box and stupid stuff like that, something along the line of AOKP and PA and others, while the "OS" sounds more serious, with business partnerships and all that kind of stuff.

I think they nailed the naming scheme this time. More than they nailed the rest of the transition at least...

I have to disagree there in a sense that you won't say "I use Windows OS", you say "I use Windows"...and in this case, most people will just go with "I use Cyanogen" so a followup question will be needed.

Just the whole name "Cyanogen OS" sounds out of place...I'd recommend them to re-think this with their marketing guy (or girl).

GRAW

Happy to hear that, but more happy to hear 12.1 is coming very soon.

Aldrin Tauro

So pretty much.. having Android with all the Google-supplied backend APIs and apps is bad, so the solution is to replace them with Microsoft-supplied backend APIs and apps, which is good?

Frettfreak

Good for the cm team. Lol. They are getting something out of the deal for sure. They don't care about users anymore... They r corporate now

MJ

Who cares? CyanogenMod still exists...

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

But for how Long?

RandomC

Duh... Forever? It's open source, anyone can edit and publish their version of cyanogen

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

That's as long as CM ALLOWS us to do so

Call me paranoid, but who's to say that things aren't gonna change? Who can guarantee that one day Cyanogen won't have a change of mind and say "hey, you know what? We kinda earn lots of moneys right now, what do we still need that chappy open source version for anyways?" and just close down its part of the code
if you ask me, I wouldn't be surprised if that actually happens. Ever since CM went corporate they have been going downhill

tekfr33kn

If that happens, the modding community will simply move on. Think of it this way. Where did modders go before Cyanogen was a thing? They made their own stuff. Even if Cyanogen does go downhill...so what. It will be of their own doing. In the meantime, there are plenty of other community mods out there that deserve our support and money. Free market is a good thing.

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

The morning community of course won't die out, true, we still have PA, AOKP, Omni, XenonHD, etc and other big ROMs, but the problem is that there are HUNDREDS of ROMs that rely on cyanogenmod code, you can often see various cherry picks from their sources, since the developer might not have been experienced enough to implement a feature him/herself, or AOSP is the only reliable way to go with certain devices, where the development might be almost nonexistent and CM ports can help quite a lot

So, if CM were to close down their sources - it wouldn't be the end of development forever, of course, but it could severely impact some devices, and we kinda need a backup plan for that

Well, the fact that people are complaining and you saying this means that some people do care and the Cyanogen Inc *should* care, too, because that decision seems like a bad business move if it means it's preferable not to buy a phone with Cyanogen OS on it.

Nathan J

Sounds like they need to get their story straight.

I, for one, don't mind the Microsoft apps, so long as you can remove them. OneDrive is an integral part of Windows 8/8.1 and 10, so having it on your phone as well is just smart. Even if you only use Windows 7, as I do, OneDrive offers more free storage than the other major players (15GB vs. GDrive's 15GB shared or Dropbox's 3GB).

Bing has been better than Google in many areas for a while, and won't make you solve Captchas if it doesn't like you using a VPN to bounce around, or you search while signed in at work, and your job VPNs everything to company HQ in another state. Google has a problem with that, and says that, for every search, I need to solve a Captcha. Bing doesn't care. So, at work, I change Chrome's search to Bing. Because Chrome syncs settings, it made the change at home, where Google doesn't Captcha me... but Bing's results are generally more concise. I don't even dislike Google Search... It was the best for a while. Probably still is on a lot of things. But it isn't worth jumping through hoops. Oh, and try your next YouTube search on Bing (then click videos). I think you will be pleasantly surprised. They did a great job there.

MJ

"Sounds like they need to get their story straight."

Who? Not Cyanogen... The tech blogs were reporting it wrong.

Larry Simpson

Nice damage control. F em

MJ

Cyanogen has no control on how tech blogs report a story.

Cendol Rangers

It's time for the community to fork the project and take it away from Cyanogen Inc.

I really hope CyanogenMod renames and separates itself from the corporate entity. Get rid of CM account, all the home-grown apps, and just go back to their original goal of a Nexus experience on non-Nexus devices.

Brotaku

It's time for the community to fork the project and take it away from Cyanogen Inc.

I had used the PA gapps packages for 5.0 since CM hadn't put their own together yet. They worked pretty good.

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

Didn't CM stop packing their GAPPS packages a long time ago? I had to search for 3rd party ones like from BaNkS and PA ever since 5.0 got released, maybe even earlier

Merkin McGee

CM had them though 4.4 I am pretty sure, of their package worked though then at least. I like PA more modular versions anyway.

Brotaku

So basically it goes like this then:

1. Paying customers of Cyanogen Inc - You get Cyanogen OS by default, with unwanted Microsoft junk/bloat bolted on, maybe even baked right into the ROM itself such that it isn't removable (we don't know yet, but this is a possibility since they are using the words "integration" in reference to this news).

2, Non-paying customers and enthusiasts using the community ROM, CyanogenMod - You (for now) get a cleaner AOSP-like experience which you can customize to your heart's desires.

Which sounds more appealing? The one you pay for or the one you get for free? Why would anyone who is the target market of Cyanogen (enthusiasts, because they are still a very niche brand) want to *pay for a subpar experience*?

Why don't they ship the ROM with packages that can be selected at initial setup so that you can choose what you want? No extra packages, Google Services, or Microsoft Services? Oh wait, it makes too much business sense, something that Cyanogen Inc. purposely tries to avoid. When their goal is to provide a product that nobody wants and make it as far from appealing as possible, I guess you could say they are doing it right.

CoreRooted

Honestly, I thought Aroma was going to really take off into the common user space in terms of being able to do installs of packages upon initial install. It would allow for this situation perfectly. Don't want apps? Don't install them... Only want an email app? Great! Install it and you're done. I really don't understand why we don't have an Aroma based installer for bloatware.

Brotaku

They should have gone this route with Cyanogen OS. It would have literally resolved every problem that we all have with this Microsoft integration problem.

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

Ah, Aroma installer.. I remember having it built into custom ROMs for HTC devices, an amazing thing to be honest. Did it die out completely? It was so convenient to only install stuff I wanted to

You don't pay for Cyanogen OS, it comes for free with your phone. The OEM pays for it. In that case, it makes sense that the OEM wants it for cheaper, and that "cheaper" might mean Cyanogen will put bloat on it so that other people pay for the price reduction to the OEM, in this case, Microsoft.

Đức Thành

B-but... while this bloated version is "free", there's already a better OS version readily available... for free.
Then by forcing people who only want the phone to use the bloated version instead of what they would have preferred, the Cyanogen Inc. bunch is not acting on their customer base's interests, veering them away from buying the products, which makes little business sense.

I think that's the point OP was trying to make, at least.

JeanClaude

My point is the customer is the OEM, not the user buying the phone. OEMs that go the Cyanogen route are normally smaller, and can't afford to go with their own Android or Google's.

They also can't just sell a phone with no OS, and wait for the open source community to eventually have Cyanogen work with the phone.

Brotaku

> My point is the customer is the OEM, not the user buying the phone.

Firmware that ships on a new phone is *part of the product* you are paying for. Does *anybody* sell a phone *without* firmware pre-installed? No. That's like selling a heart monitor without firmware installed. Or an electronic clothes washer without firmware installed. Or a Smart TV without firmware installed.

If you buy a phone with Cyanogen OS installed, you have every right to complain about their software. You paid for a product that *includes* it as part of the product you paid for. Any defect in Cyanogen OS would also have to be covered under warranty if something went wrong and it wasn't your fault. By your logic, there would be no warranty for Cyanogen OS problems, since you seem to think it's excluded from being considered part of the product. I don't know what makes you think that's a sensible argument.

JeanClaude

You're paying the OEM to give you a phone bundled with Cyanogen OS. You are not paying Cyanogen to give you an OS bundled with a phone.

Brotaku

Not directly, but you are paying for a product that comes bundled with their firmware. Whether it be directly or indirectly, you are paying for a product which includes their firmware. You should therefore have an expectation for the firmware that ships on the product to work as advertised, or you should be eligible for compensation from *somebody*, whether it be the OEM or Cyanogen (almost always the OEM, granted). Ethically speaking of course; legally there are ways to prevent needing to support customers in the industry-standard, reasonable, expected fashion.

JeanClaude

Ethics are not a reality of business, only negotiation is. So unless a governing body forces ethics into businesses, all you have left is demand and offer. If they can negotiate sales without having to give warranty or a refund policy, they won't give it.

So ethically, I totally agree with you. In terms of business, it's more subtle. Are you telling me you won't be buying any phone that comes with Cyanogen OS on it anymore? Are you going to tell everyone else not to buy them too? Cause if you're not going to do that, you've lost the negotiation, and they definitely won't care about the ethics of it.

Brotaku

The reality is that consumers in this space care about ethics, and it's actively influencing their purchasing decisions in this very niche market (Cyanogen isn't in the same market space as behemoths like Samsung). It's in Cyanogen's best interests to consider ethics, at least right now.

Are you telling me you won't be buying any phone that comes with Cyanogen OS on it anymore?

Yes.

Are you going to tell everyone else not to buy them too?

Yes.

Cause if you're not going to do that, you've lost the negotiation, and they definitely won't care about the ethics of it.

It's people like me, well-informed early adopters, that encourage others to adopt new products. The majority of us don't like what we see coming from Cyanogen, so refusing to buy products that their software ships on is our prerogative. And we will encourage the less-informed to stay away as well. Our reason for doing so? Ethics. We've told Cyanogen Inc. time and time again what matters to us, what we want, and what we will gladly pay for. They are refusing to provide what we want, but beyond that, they are providing something that *actually scares us away*. Why would they do this? They are in no position to turn away every bit of business they can get, to generate every good bit of PR they can, while they are still growing in this niche market. But they insist on killing themselves. They insist on following a CEO that's done nothing but tarnish the brand.

Tell me, aside from all of this, do you think Cyanogen Inc. is making sound business decisions? Ethics considered or not?

JeanClaude

I actually think they are. The thing is, even if enthusiasts like you and me would be willing to pay a bit extra to get a better custom OS, I don't think we as a market, are important enough to make an OS software business thrive. Most of us can install CyanogenMod for free anyways.

So I think the only point of making a company out of Cyanogen is to try and become mainstream. I also think the idea is to sell out to a competitor of Google and cash big on that. It's hard to compete with Google, so making partnerships with all of Google's enemies is probably the best thing for them.

And I'm also not convinced enthusiasts won't still buy in on phones with CyanogenMod. What's the alternative? Most other manufacturer's ROM come with bloat anyways.

Having said all that, I think your strategy could have also worked. I don't think it's possible to really know which way is best. Both ways I can see succeeding or failing equally. They've made their gamble, so I presume time will tell.

Brotaku

So I think the only point of making a company out of Cyanogen is to try and become mainstream. I also think the idea is to sell out to a competitor of Google and cash big on that. It's hard to compete with Google, so making partnerships with all of Google's enemies is probably the best thing for them.

You can't just become mainstream overnight. Right now, they are in a niche market, which consists almost completely of enthusiasts and not the rest of the general public. It's us, the enthusiasts, that will help to get them to the mainstream, by recommending products with their ROM to friends and family, who currently have no idea who they are or what they do. If they lose us, they lose everyone else by extension, and will never make it to the mainstream.

And I'm also not convinced enthusiasts won't still buy in on phones with CyanogenMod. What's the alternative? Most other manufacturer's ROM come with bloat anyways.

You said it yourself: Most other manufacturer's ROM come with bloat anyways. So if Cyanogen OS comes with bloat as well, what differentiates it from Samsung, LG, HTC, etc? Nothing. So you might as well buy your phone from a big, well-established company that will be around for a long time, with a well-known name. Another way to think about it is, if you're just going to install CyanogenMod instead of keeping the commercial Cyanogen OS anyways, what's the point in getting a phone that comes with Cyanogen OS then? Grab yourself a Samsung, LG, or HTC phone, and just flash CyanogenMod on that.

There's literally *no advantage nor incentive* right now in buying a Cyanogen OS-based phone than any other at the moment, not for us enthusiasts, and even less so for the rest of the general public. I have an LG G3 that I can just flash CyanogenMod on right now if I wanted to (but I refuse because I don't want to touch anything Cyanogen Inc. is related to). If I wanted CyanogenMod, why bother with a OnePlus One? Or a Yureka Yu? The only thing they have going for them right now is price. And even then, OnePlus and Micromax phones have to be imported, and even some of us enthusiasts aren't willing to go through that hassle. And even if we were, in light of recent events, the majority of us are *actively avoiding* supporting any endeavour Cyanogen Inc. sets out to pursue, because of the way they are going about things. You can't deny that most of us, maybe even including you, are not happy with them right now. This is the worst possible place they could be in at the moment.

Having said all that, I think your strategy could have also worked. I don't think it's possible to really know which way is best. Both ways I can see succeeding or failing equally. They've made their gamble, so I presume time will tell.

The way it is now in a nutshell: Cheap devices, niche market, horrible PR, impending removal of access to Google services which so many rely on, angry would-be customers/supporters.

The way it could have been: Cheap devices, niche market, good PR (get rid of McMaster and Kondik, ideally), choice of services of first device boot, happy would-be customers/supporters.

I'd argue that both ways things could have gone would have been just as easy to implement, would have left them with loads of good-will, and everyone would have been singing their praises.

You're right, it's a gamble, and we'll see how it turns out. But I already know this is the last sprint before their final hour.

Brotaku

> You don't pay for Cyanogen OS, it comes for free with your phone.

There is no way to get it *but* to pay for a phone that it ships with. As far as anyone should be concerned, you *are* paying for it. It's *firmware*. It drives your device. If a brand new device you go out and buy has defective firmware, you have a right to seek reparations for a defective product. It's *part of the product*. Therefore, you are paying for it.

Do you not believe that if you go out and buy a new Samsung phone right now, and it fails to boot, but there is nothing physically wrong with the actual hardware (say it was a firmware bug), that you should not be helped because you didn't actually "pay" for Touchwiz?

Of course not. If you buy a phone with Cyanogen OS pre-installed on it, *you are their customer*, and have every right to complain if something goes wrong with it or if you're not satisfied with the product.

Tell me if you disagree, and why. I doubt there can be any reasonable answer, but I'll hear you out.

JeanClaude

Business is very simple, it's all about doing what improves your income and reduces your outcome.

You're paying the OEM, and the OEM pays Cyanogen OS. So technically, you're not Cyanogen's customer. That doesn't mean you don't matter. You still matter, because you might be the reason the OEM chose to become Cyanogen's customer. To that extent, Cyanogen needs to pay some level of attention to your satisfaction in Cyanogen OS.

But you're also not the only thing that matters. The OEM can have many other reasons to chose to pay for Cyanogen OS. As I said, one of those could be that it's own customers demand it, or seem to like it enough that it could help them sell more phones. Yet you also have things like how much is it going to cost compared to the alternatives, like making their own software, or buying from someone else. Improving income, and reducing outcome.

You always have a right to complain, that's called free speech. What you don't have, is a right to refund, or compensation, unless you prove they broke some laws or regulation, like false advertisement, or physical injury caused by their faults, etc.

Cyanogen doesn't have to support you. It all depends on their contract with the OEM. They have no contract with you, because you are not their customer. Some vendors offer to make themselves more valuable to OEMs by providing servicing to the users as part of their agreement, but not all do it. I'm sure you've been in a situation where something broke inside an electronic device you owned, and when you called the company you bought it from, they said you had to contact the company who made the part directly. Whereas other time, they say you need to go through them for repairs and warranty. It's all about what the OEM pays for, or what the vendor offers to the OEM.

Brotaku

> You're paying the OEM, and the OEM pays Cyanogen OS. So technically, you're not Cyanogen's customer. That doesn't mean you don't matter. You still matter, because you might be the reason the OEM chose to become Cyanogen's customer. To that extent, Cyanogen needs to pay some level of attention to your satisfaction in Cyanogen OS.

Okay, fair enough. You made it sound like the customer didn't matter in the context of expecting the firmware that ships with their product to function properly. I'm glad that you don't think that after all.

> But you're also not the only thing that matters. The OEM can have many other reasons to chose to pay for Cyanogen OS. As I said, one of those could be that it's own customers demand it, or seem to like it enough that it could help them sell more phones. Yet you also have things like how much is it going to cost compared to the alternatives, like making their own software, or buying from someone else. Improving income, and reducing outcome.

Using Cyanogen OS may very well drive the cost to OEMs down, but if demand for Cyanogen OS lowers dramatically, as it is doing right now, then demand for the OEM's product also lowers dramatically, and the OEM won't make as much. That's bad for their business. Cost of the ROM being low is good for them, but it's also inseparably tied (especially in such a niche market where only enthusiasts have ever heard of the phones that run Cyanogen OS) to the consumer's interest in the firmware, in this case.

> You always have a right to complain, that's called free speech. What you don't have, is a right to refund, or compensation, unless you prove they broke some laws or regulation, like false advertisement, or physical injury caused by their faults, etc.

You have the right to a refund if you buy a product that is defective brand new and out of the box, whether it be a hardware defect or a software defect, if a warranty is included with your purchase. And every phone Cyanogen OS has shipped on has been covered by warranty by the OEM. Even if the OEM is covering the warranty and not Cyanogen Inc, if it's a problem with Cyanogen OS, the OEM will cover the warranty. However, such experiences leave a blemish on both the OEM and the firmware maker in the eyes of the consumer, which is bad for business.

> Cyanogen doesn't have to support you. It all depends on their contract with the OEM. They have no contract with you, because you are not their customer.

Fair enough. However, no OEM will partner with Cyanogen if Cyanogen doesn't offer to support *them* in the support of *their* customers. So they may as well be, conceptually, supporting the end-users, even if not directly in the literal sense. For all intents and purposes, they "have to" (quotes intentional) support their users and OEM partners if they want to be profitable.

> Some vendors offer to make themselves more valuable to OEMs by providing servicing to the users as part of their agreement, but not all do it. I'm sure you've been in a situation where something broke inside an electronic device you owned, and when you called the company you bought it from, they said you had to contact the company who made the part directly.

I have. And when it's happened, as I would expect of anyone else, I've consciously vowed to never do business with either company ever again, because that's horrible service. This kind of treatment damages the reputation of any brand.

> Whereas other time, they say you need to go through them for repairs and warranty.

This is good service, and people appreciate that. Cyanogen will probably never provide such support to their OEMs.

> It's all about what the OEM pays for, or what the vendor offers to the OEM.

Sure, I get that. We can't expect even a mediocre level of service from Cyanogen Inc. though for their OEMs. Just look at what they did to OnePlus. Micromax is next on their chopping block, as is Microsoft. When Microsoft inevitably breaks off their partnership with Cyanogen Inc, that will make major waves. Mark my words. It's only a few months away from happening.

JeanClaude

I'm not an expert about the laws and regulation of warranties and refunds on goods. I think these vary greatly from state to state, country to country, etc. Generally though, I assume that if it's not explicitly advertised as such by the vendor, don't expect to rely on the law to get a refund or a repair. Unless you're willing to put more time and money into going to court that is.

It sounds like you believe Cyanogen is doing a mistake by putting bloatware in. I get that you think it will hurt their brand, and users who were attracted to a phone because it came with Cyanogen might stop doing so.

You might be right, but I'm simply saying that Cyanogen obviously think you are wrong. They seem to think that what will help them attract OEM is the price point, they either give the OS for free or very cheap to OEMs, and make their money of bloatware.

I guess I'm also trying to say that Cyanogen doesn't care about you directly. They only care about you indirectly. You are obviously not willing to pay a fee for Cyanogen. Most phones going the Cyanogen route are selling for a race to the bottom. Good phone, cheap price. Those phone would have little chance at the price point of an iPhone or Samsung. Something has to pay for the OS. If the OEM isn't willing to pay a big license fee, and you're not willing to pay either, it's normal that Cyanogen is looking for sponsors willing to pay for the advertisement space.

Brotaku

You might be right, but I'm simply saying that Cyanogen obviously think you are wrong. They seem to think that what will help them attract OEM is the price point, they either give the OS for free or very cheap to OEMs, and make their money of bloatware.

Sure, but we've asked them to explain their reasoning, and they refuse to be open about it, so we can only speculate.

I guess I'm also trying to say that Cyanogen doesn't care about you directly. They only care about you indirectly. You are obviously not willing to pay a fee for Cyanogen. Most phones going the Cyanogen route are selling for a race to the bottom. Good phone, cheap price. Those phone would have little chance at the price point of an iPhone or Samsung. Something has to pay for the OS. If the OEM isn't willing to pay a big license fee, and you're not willing to pay either, it's normal that Cyanogen is looking for sponsors willing to pay for the advertisement space.

For years, people like me have wished we could throw all our money at Cyanogen (before they went corporate) to get a great product, and now that they are in a position to provide such a relationship with us, they choose to turn us off of the idea altogether by making decisions many of us can't ethically support. This was their big chance. They blew it. They could have been profitable and been heroes. Now they are profitable but are sellouts.

JeanClaude

I get you though. I'm really surprised at how they turned out to be, it's a shame.

Well, that's even more reason for them to make sponsorship part of their revenue model. If OEMs ain't willing to pay the bills, and phone users aren't willing to pay either, they've got to find wallets who are willing to open up. Apparently Microsoft is.

There was once a time when all wished for phones shipped with Cynogenmod... And then Cynogen inc formed and people got hope.. But looking now people still wish phones with Cynogenmod.. Shame Cynogen OS is taking the wrong track!